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  "description": "What if we reframe some of those expenses as investments?",
  "path": "/what-is-one-expense-you-wouldnt-cut-from-your-budget/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-11T19:10:43.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.thepurse.co",
  "tags": [
    "data scientist who was earning over $500,000 a year",
    "How a 29-Year-Old Data Scientist Spends Her $500k IncomeShe grew up lower middle class and took out $90k in student loans to pay for an Ivy League college.The PurseLindsey Stanberry",
    "economist Corinne Low",
    "“When you’re in the squeeze, you can feel like you’re drowning with no way out.”Division of Labor No. 23: A Wharton professor and marketing manager raising two kids in PhiladelphiaThe PurseAlicia Adamczyk",
    "grocery budget"
  ],
  "textContent": "A few weeks ago, we published an edition of Home Economics featuring a data scientist who was earning over $500,000 a year (including base, company stock, and bonus). There was one line item in her budget that got readers talking: a personal chef share. She and eight friends hired a chef to prepare them meals that they could reheat for lunch and dinner over the work week. The cost: $1,000 a month.\n\nHow a 29-Year-Old Data Scientist Spends Her $500k IncomeShe grew up lower middle class and took out $90k in student loans to pay for an Ivy League college.The PurseLindsey Stanberry\n\nWhen asked to name one expense that makes her life better, the data scientist wrote, “Hands down, 100%, no contest, it’s my chef-share.” If she lost her job and money got tight, she said she make other lifestyle changes (like moving to a cheaper apartment) before she stopped outsourcing her meal prep.\n\nIt got me thinking about which expenses in my own life are nonnegotiable. We have a house cleaner who has been working for us for more than a decade now. It’s not cheap, but she does such an amazing job. (She’s coming tomorrow, and, truly, it’s the best day of the month!) Honestly, it’s an expense that provides me with so much peace of mind. I don’t have to fight with Ken over who’s going to clean the tub. And in this busy season of building a business _and_ studying for the CFP exam, it’s a relief that I’m not also trying to carve out time to change all the sheets on the beds or vacuum the living room rug.\n\nFor many women, there’s sometimes a bit of shame and guilt around spending money on things like housekeepers or grocery delivery. But I was having a conversation with economist Corinne Low recently, and she pointed out that no one thinks twice when we outsource male-coded tasks like taking our cars to a mechanic for a tune-up and an oil change. She urges women to reframe some of these household expenses as investments. Consider how spending money on these services might help free up your time for work that only you can do?\n\n“When you’re in the squeeze, you can feel like you’re drowning with no way out.”Division of Labor No. 23: A Wharton professor and marketing manager raising two kids in PhiladelphiaThe PurseAlicia Adamczyk\n\nMost of us have an expense or two that we don’t want to give up, no matter how tight money gets. And while I love Corinne’s “investment” theory, I also think it’s okay if some of those expenses are just plain frivolous, like a monthly trip to get a pedicure or buying a pint of expensive ice cream after a bad (or good) day at work. I try to keep my grocery budget pretty tight, but I still like to indulge in the occasional expensive cheese.\n\nWhat about you? What’s an expense (or two) you can’t live without and would go to great lengths to avoid cutting from your budget? Let us know in the comments!",
  "title": "Tell us about an expense you never ever want to cut from your budget",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-11T19:10:43.963Z"
}